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Little Digital Video Book » (VIDEO)

Book cover image of Little Digital Video Book by Michael Rubin

Authors: Michael Rubin, Rubin
ISBN-13: 9780201758481, ISBN-10: 0201758482
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Peachpit Press
Date Published: September 2001
Edition: VIDEO

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Author Biography: Michael Rubin

Michael Rubin is an entertainment-technology inventor, entrepreneur, graphic designer, editor, digital video advocate, and maybe a few other things. He has written and published three books, including NONLINEAR: a field guide to digital video and film editing, recently released in its fourth edition. In the past, Michael has worked on numerous feature films and TV programming, including Bertolucci's The Sheltering Sky and the CBS miniseries Lonesome Dove.

Book Synopsis

Congratulations! You've got a brand-new digital camcorder. Now what do you do with it? Before you shoot a single frame of tape, pick up The Little Digital Video Book. This friendly guide to the basics of digital video will teach you how to shoot well, organize easily, and quickly edit your own footage. For new camcorder owners, it's the ideal—and affordable—introduction to the exciting world of quality digital filmmaking.

The Little Digital Video Book is not some dense, jargon-filled reference tome. Instead, it focuses on practical shooting and editing techniques, and shows you how to start (and actually finish) that video project you have in mind—in less than a day. You get a thorough grounding in the basics of digital video, from how to get a good close-up shot and how to add a sound track to your video to how to organize your videotapes. The Little Digital Video Book is platform- and software-neutral, truly making it the guide for the moviemaking masses.

Table of Contents

Introductionxi
Chapter 1The Basics1
Your Tools1
Your camcorder2
Your computer5
Your software7
Other tools8
The bottom line8
Your Process9
Preparation9
Shooting10
Editing10
Finishing11
Chapter 2Your Camera13
Fondle Your Camera14
Basic camera anatomy14
Assignment 1The Blindfold Test23
Camera Care23
Playing videotapes24
A long camera life25
Videotape26
Tape length27
Tape quality27
Cassette memory (CM) or IC memory27
Using Your First Videotape29
Assignment 2Shooting Tape30
Your Friend, Timecode31
Learning to read timecode33
Assignment 3Working with Your timecode33
Assignment 4Break the Timecode35
Why broken timecode is a problem37
Assignment 5Fix the Timecode38
End Search--a hip feature40
Summary40
Chapter 3Shooting41
The First Important Thing About Shooting41
Rubin's Rules of Shooting43
How to Shoot46
Your body and your camera46
Think like a wildlife documentarian48
Structure49
Middle shots: The action or event50
Beginning shots51
Ending (closure) shots51
Camera Shots52
The close-up53
The medium shot54
The wide shot55
Coverage56
The establishing shot57
The shot/reverse shot59
The over-the-shoulder (OS) shot63
The point-of-view (POV) shot64
The cut-away shot (a.k.a. the "insert")65
The pickup66
"Popping" between shots66
How long should a shot be?67
Looking into the camera67
The Hollywood Way--A Helpful Paradigm68
Watching the raw material69
Assignment 6Watch Some TV70
Takes and Repetition70
Framing and Design71
Centering (or really, Not-centering)71
Balance72
Safe frame margins74
Stop Moving the Camera75
Assignment 7At the Dog Park75
How not to move the camera77
Assignment 8More Dog Park77
Moving the camera78
Lighting80
Dark scenes80
Backlighting81
Sound Coverage82
Ambience83
Don't worry about dialog84
Turn off the music when you shoot85
What to Shoot: Small Moments85
The expense of small moments87
Candid photography87
Non-candid photography89
Summary90
Chapter 4Organizing Your Video91
Organizing Your Materials92
Labeling the tape93
Tape labels: "reel names"94
Logging96
Tape logs98
Assignment 9Making a Log Book98
Your logging station99
How much detail to log?100
Storage and Care of Videotapes101
Tape care102
Head-cleaning tapes103
Disable record (a.k.a. "locking" a tape)103
Chapter 5Getting Ready to Edit105
The Camera and the Computer106
Digital Video Is Big106
Shooting Ratios106
Culling vs. editing107
Cabling108
Cables and terminals108
The most important cable112
Cabling 101: Hooking everything up113
Your "Edit Bay"114
Several good monitor-setup options115
Looping the video118
Chairs119
Choosing What to Edit121
Capturing Video122
Tips125
Chapter 6Editing129
Who Needs Editing?129
Editing Terms and Concepts130
Sync sound130
Rippling/not rippling131
Reading a shot132
Source and master132
Timeline134
Editing functions (inserts and trims)135
Track controls135
Media files vs. project files136
Output (to tape)137
Rubin's Rules of Editing138
Your Post-Production Schedule142
Approaches to Editing143
Method 1Cutting down (the marble-sculpting method)143
Method 2Building up (the clay-sculpting method)144
Your second pass144
Editing Assignment 10Compilation Music Video144
"Real" Editing146
Assignment 11An Interview150
The Art of Editing153
Cutting on action153
Motion example: Small-moment kid vid154
A little trick155
Re-editing and Versions156
Sound and Sound Tracks157
Your Master Tape158
Preparing your master tape160
Quality control162
Titles and Special Effects162
Dissolves162
Fades163
Titles164
Motion effects (slow-down only)166
Final Assignment: Small-Moment Video166
Version 1With production sound167
Version 2With a song from a CD167
Version 3With ambience167
Version 4With narration168
Finishing Up168
Digital output: CD-ROMs and DVDs169
Deleting files and cleaning up169
Copyright law170
VHS dubs171
Conclusion172
Index173

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